Veterans Day Ceremony Activities Announced

GREAT FALLS, Mont.—The Montana Veterans Memorial Association has announced the schedule of events for the 19th annual Veterans Day Ceremony, to be held at the Montana Veterans Memorial beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 11, 2024. The event will take place indoors at the nearby Voyagers Baseball Stadium.

The ceremony will open with a welcome from MVMA Vice President Gina Winters, followed by a Bells of Peace Remembrance bell ringing by members of the Montana Chapter of the U.S. Veterans Motorcycle Club.

Former television personality and United States Navy veteran Art Taft will once again serve as the master of ceremonies for the annual event.

Members of the 341st Missile Wing Base Honor Guard will present the colors, and the invocation will be delivered by United States Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Chad Hesler.

Music will again be a major part of the Veterans Day ceremony at the memorial. The Sound of the Falls Women's Harmony Chorus will perform the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless the USA." Great Falls Pipe Band member Jesse Callender will play a "Bagpipe Salute" in honor of all United States Armed Forces veterans.

Cadets from the local Air Force Junior ROTC high school program will lead participants and the audience in the "Pledge of Allegiance."

The theme of this year’s Veterans Day Ceremony will be the recognition of the service of women veterans. Two veterans active in local service organizations will serve as guest speakers: United States Navy veteran Kim Kay McCarty Martin and United States Army veteran Shannon Wilson. Martin is the vice commander of American Legion Post 341, and Wilson is the adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4669 in Black Eagle.

St. Vincent De Paul Director Deb Kottel will also provide updates on the Grace Home Veterans Center, which serves as a transitional housing facility for homeless male veterans, and the new Grace Haven, which serves homeless female veterans.

The ceremony will conclude with a benediction presented by Rescue Mission Chaplain John Baker, followed by the sounding of "Taps" by Great Falls Municipal Band trumpet player Kurt Mueller.

Those unable to attend can listen to the Veterans Day Ceremony broadcast live on Great Falls public radio, 89.9 FM KGPR. The ceremony will also be streamed on Facebook Live at the Montana Veterans Memorial Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mtvetsmemorial.

For more information on the Montana Veterans Memorial Veterans Day Ceremony, please contact Richard Liebert at 406-590-9017 or email him at wwranch@3rivers.net.